Class war with a subtle twist

A surprise flanking manoeuvre in in the class war against David Cameron: a piece in Comment is Free, which avers that it is a bad thing for politicians to have been to Eton, turns out to have been written – clever this – by an Old Etonian. The author argues that the Tory leader "may appreciate that the life of a single mother on minimum wage is difficult, but he cannot understand what that life is really like."

Alright. But neither, by that logic, can Nick Clegg or Gordon Brown. Very few MPs have first-hand experience of being single mothers on the minimum wage. Indeed, all of us are set apart by some trait or other: a large family or a peanut allergy, a fine singing voice or an interest in Icelandic sagas. The anti-Etonians might argue that one's school is in a special category, because it has such an influence on one's outlook. Quite apart from being piffle, this argument is potentially very nasty: try replacing the word "Etonian" with "black" or "Jewish" and you'll see why.

Whom would you rather spend an evening with: David Cameron or Gordon Brown? Which of them connects more easily – the PM, with his weird smiles and temper tantrums, or the Tory leader, who unwinds by growing vegetables and watching trashy TV?

Most people are too sensible to vote on the basis of where candidates went to school. They vote, instead, for whomever they believe will improve their situation and rescue Britain from its present discontents. And that, surely, is a no-brainer.